February 15, 2007

Lifetime of saving languages

Native languages scholar receives lifetime achievement awardAll over the world, Native languages are threatened, Krauss said. Of the earth's remaining 6,000 languages, he said, about half of them will disappear during this century, with all but the last five or 10 percent dying in the next century. Krauss said he would like to see governments work to stop what he calls the tragic loss of languages.

"We work to save endangered species, but we don't work to save endangered languages," he said. "It's a lot easier to keep them alive than to bring them back."